Evaluations and Recommendations

As a pre-health student, you are required to obtain letters of recommendation to be
submitted as part of your application to professional schools. Recommendations can
be submitted in two ways: a committee letter from your institution and/or individual
letters of recommendation.

Committee Letters

Committee letters are valuable to medical schools as they evaluate applicants based
on a combination of direct observation and other information provided by faculty and
others at an institution. Saint Louis University’s Committee on Evaluations is comprised
of staff and faculty members from various colleges and undergraduate degree programs.

Requirements

Starting in the 2017-2018 school year, you must meet the following requirements before
evaluation:

For more information, contact Rita Strube in the Office of Pre-Health and Pre-Law Studies.

Evaluation Process

A file will be developed for you with the following items:

An interview report: A member of the committee will interview you as a rehearsal for
your future interviews with professional schools.

Evaluations by four SLU instructors: Two faculty evaluations from math and science
disciplines, and two faculty evaluations from humanities disciplines are required.

A personal statement: The personal statement includes a discussion of "Why I want
to be a ____." This essay will be reviewed by the committee and will later be submitted
as part of your application to professional school. This essay offers an opportunity
for you to elaborate on your values, experiences, goals and professional motivation
and allow admissions committees to get to know you.

Committee application: The committee application is a modified version of the electronic
AMCAS application that students complete when officially applying to medical school.
This application provides the committee with detailed information that helps portray
who you are.

Outside letters of recommendation (optional): These non-academic letters of recommendation may come from clergy, employers, physicians,
research mentors, volunteer supervisors and other professionals. These are screened
by the director of the Office of Pre-Health and Pre-Law Studies.

FAQs

Sophomore Medical Scholars are evaluated during the Fall , in preparation for their interview with the Saint
Louis University School of Medicine.

You can choose to be evaluated during your senior year of college if you are planning a "gap year" before professional school. Seniors will
be evaluated in the Fall, following the same Committee on Evaluations schedule as sophomore
Medical Scholars.

You will be evaluated during your junior year if you entered SLU as a freshman, plan to complete your undergraduate degree in four
years, and plan to enter professional school the year after your undergraduate graduation.

Transfer students are evaluated during the year before applying to health professions schools.

Request evaluation early in your junior or senior year by attending an information
meeting held by the Office of Pre-Health and Pre-Law Studies or contact our office directly. The process begins in mid-September, and associated materials are available
on the Pre-Health Blackboard page.

You must request access to the Pre-Health Blackboard page from our office.

High grades are impressive, but your choice of courses is important too. Admissions
committees look for evidence that you have challenged yourself and refined your critical
and analytical thinking skills throughout selected coursework.

Letters of Recommendation

A strong letter of recommendation can be very valuable when a professional expresses
their support and belief in your abilities to succeed in health care. If you do not
meet the requirements to participate in the Committee on Evaluations process, our
office can still help you assemble a packet that includes three letters of recommendation
and a cover letter.

In addition to the four instructor evaluations required for the Committee on Evaluations
process, you can attached up to three additional letters of recommendation to your
professional school application.

Letter guidelines:

Letter writers should include your name in the subject line and address the letter
to “Admissions Committee.” Letters should be written generally to all professional
schools and neither to one school in particular, nor to the Office of Pre-Professional
Health Studies.

Letters must be written on letterhead and include the signature of the person making
the recommendation, or they will not be accepted.

Letters of recommendation from family members are not recommended. Give the letter writer a copy of Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Evaluation for
a Medical School Applicant.

If the director does not approve a letter, you will be notified.

The Office of Pre-Health and Pre-Law Studies will upload letters even if they are
considered weak recommendations. Keep that in mind when you are asking for a letter.

For Sophomore Medical Scholars applying to SLU School of Medicine, outside letters of recommendation must be received
by March 15 of the evaluation year. For all other students, it is recommended that outside letters be received by June 1 of the year you apply
to professional schools.

Before sending letter requests, please verify with Rita Strube that all outside letters
of recommendation have been received by the Pre-Health and Pre-Law Office. Once the
letters are accepted and approved, they will be attached to your committee letter.

The Office if Pre-Health and Pre-Law Studies will upload your Committee Letter to
professional schools via AMCAS/ACOMAS/Virtual Evals letter services.